OTTAWA –
Canada’s economy shed a net 2,800 jobs in July, as gains in full-time work were offset by part-time job losses, while the unemployment rate remained at a 30-month high of 6.4 per cent, data showed on Friday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a net gain of 22,500 jobs and the unemployment rate to rise to 6.5 per cent from 6.4 per cent in June. An increase in the unemployment rate was expected due to rapid population growth which the labor market was not able to absorb.
The numbers came after a jump last week in the unemployment rate in the U.S., Canada’s biggest trading partner, where a three-year high jobless rate roiled markets and stoked fears of recession.
Financial markets penciled in an almost 50 basis point cut in U.S. interest rates and …